Why I Decided to Become an Elitist

[Tiggy]

Definition and the common use of a word are two very different things. I assure you that in an MMO when someone uses the word "elitist" 9 out of 10 times it is in a negative way. Heck, there are many "bad words" out there that by the dictionary definition are not bad, such as the word for a female dog, but when used in common language is very bad. Just because the definition is not bad does not mean that the common use is not bad.

The entire point is the "common usage" in this context is using the word with a specific bias attached to it. The word, by definition, carries no explicit bias and can, as the op is saying, be used in a non-negative manner. The bias itself is the problem. Not the meaning of the word elitist. The bias itself is a specific prejudice. Prejudice, historically, is awful. Anyone arguing for the continuation of this bias is simply propagating a negative prejudice. This does no good for anyone what-so-ever. We should always fight prejudice tooth and nail. Not roll over because that's just how things are. The only way to remove the prejudice is to take the word back just as the OP is trying to do. African American men took the N-word back generations ago. It is the exact same concept at play here.

Simply accepting the prejudice does nothing to fix it.

It's sad how many people in this thread are fighting tooth and nail to propagate a prejudiced world view. We as a species should be trying to overcome this. Not remain actively complacent in using words that divide us as a people. Prejudice is the tool of hate and the people who spread it the wielder of hate.